Sujewa Ekanayake's Date Number One

Had the chance to watch Sujewa Ekanayake's feature film Date Number One recently in Brooklyn with a few friends.

Date Number One is a comedy about several first dates, and is made up of 4 different stories:

1. Start Over: about a writer who tries to get back together with his ex-girlfriend

2. Just Another Ninja Searching For Love:
about a ninja who goes on a blind date

3. A Romantic Dinner For 3:
about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship

4. The Superdelicious French Lesson:
about a first date where a character learns a little bit of French in an unusual way

The film was written, produced, directed, photographed, edited and distributed by Sujewa Ekanayake.

The first story was about a writer who was attempting to get back with his girlfriend. This was set up with a bell that he brings to the date and places in between himself and his date (who is actually his ex), to prohibit either of them from bringing up the past. His rationale is that if they continued to discuss the past, it would disrupt the starting over process. Already, we are set up for the gag, and if handled correctly, it could pay off.

Well it did. Ekanayake walks this tight rope, where one bell ring too many would have caused the gag to fail. Instead its handled well, with the bell continuing to serve as a comedic clock. We begin listening more intently to the couple's conversation, and actively seeking to detect where the conversation will go, and if the bell will have to be rung.

It was. Several times. And most times, it was absolutely hilarious. It's also apparent within the first 5 minutes that this film was in fact written and directed by a man. The girl in the first story has a rather womanly figure (although that is still apart of the story and it too pays off), and the set up itself could be several men's fantasy - to have a bell to hit whenever a woman brings up something negative we have done in the past. It is a man's world, but Ekanayake makes us glad for this perspective, because it, like a lot of male driven relationship comedies, is simply funny.

Just Another Ninja is the second story, and here again the filmmaker has obvious ideas of what he thinks can be humorous. A grown man, in a ninja suit, declaring the reason he always wears one is simply "I'm a ninja." This story had a bit of a Kevin Smith feel to it - the comedy was overt and dry.

I was afraid this story would derail as I watched it. Until Ekanayake surprised the be-jesus out of me with his story's direction, one that neither myself, nor the other guests could ever foresee. I wont give it away here in case you haven't yet seen it, but let's just say that there is someone for everyone. This story probably was the best handled out of the batch, because that is not the end of it. It goes on to make a rather sharp point about the strongholds that social politics and other outside influences actually have on American relationships. It was rather sad, but wonderfully honest.

The third story was a romantic dinner for 3. This story is about a girl in a relationship who has a crush on her female best friend. The couple discusses the possibility of a three-way romance. This is obviously where the psyche of the male brain really begins to strut it's stuff. The set up alone sounds like one of the better episodes of The Man Show. Although this story by far featured the best acting in the film, and consequently the most likable characters, this one didn't pay off for me although it was well set up. Which would be a much more problematic occurance, where it not for the wonderfully engaging actors in the sequence.

The superdelicious French lesson was about a bookstore worker who learns french from a girl by - surprise surprise - putting his lips on her. This was my least favorite story of the group, and probably should have been placed first. Maybe placing this story as the opener, then proceeding in order the way the stories take place in the film, might have worked better. Despite my feelings on the pay-off, the 3-some story would have been my choice as the film's climax, something to at the very least leave people talking about as they leave the screening, the theatre, the television, etc.

Some of Date Number One was troublesome for at least one of the guests with us at this private screening, and I attribute most of this to technical issues with picture and sound. I think Ekanayake could have used some more "cinematic" elements within the final cut of the film. Simple things that might have helped draw viewers in further. The film overall could probably stand to be viewed in 16x9 aspect ratio, and probably next time maybe a 24p camera would do, for this particular kind of material. Not that all film shot on DV needs to have these tweaks done to it, but for a broader appreciation from people such as this guest that has no hopes, dreams, or real knowledge of being a filmmaker, may help to suck them into the story a little more readily. These little tricks would also probably make the film seem a lot less like a series of small, unrelated sketches that the filmmaker was trying out (sort of like comedians do). The film also is a comedy, and could have used some quicker cutting and several cutaways at times for maximum use of the set up gags (i.e. more of the bell, etc). With longer takes, and my personal favorite, the intimate two shots (the film has several of by the way), its easier to take what you are seeing literally, which in some cases maybe Ekanayake didn't intend on for comedic purposes.

That being said, I really responded to Date Number One, despite these issues, because of the freshness of his voice and the casting choices. Ekanayake gets the fact that more stories about city life should in fact include city people - regardless of their race. He understands, like many up and coming filmmakers, that alot of times your first job as a director is to cast the best actor. Their particular race, unless crucial to the story, is insignificant.


The film overall has some of the most cleverly written, intelligent dialogue I've seen in a DIY film since Clerks. Existentialist ramblings about quantum-physics and Buddhism never sounded so fresh, so smart, so good. In this age of "mumblecore," or films about wayward 20-somethings, its a breath of fresh air to hear these words and thoughts coming from this particular age group.



Purchase the DVD now at: http://www.wilddiner.com/